and at the white house, president obama spoke about the man who inspired his first steps into politics. >> like so many around the globe, i cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that nelson mandela set. >> reporter: the president said he will continue to live by mandela's example. he will join other world leaders in south africa on the state funeral sunday december 15. south africa has entered into 10 days of mourning. his body will be laid to rest at his ancestral home. live in washington, i'm tara mergener, back to you. >> and tara, we understand the funeral preparations are a huge undertaking. what can you tell us? >> reporter: in fact, these funeral preparations, michelle, have been compared to a world cup inauguration, a coronation, all together at the same time. so a very big deal. now, coming up, we have a national day of prayer and reflection. that comes up first on sunday. there's going to be memorial in johannesburg on tuesday. then mandela's body will lay in state before the state funeral in his hometown. again, his body will be buried at his ancestral home bu